Adam Silver

Adam Silver was unanimously elected NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, by the NBA Board of Governors.

Silver presides over a league that is a global leader in social responsibility, a model for international sports marketing and one of the largest providers of sports programming in the world. He is dedicated to increasing transparency, leading with integrity, and inspiring youth to live healthy lifestyles through basketball.

In 2015, Silver was named to TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People. He also earned Sports Executive of the Year honors at the 2015 Sports Business Awards and was named to Fortune’s 2015 list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. In 2014, SportsBusiness Journal ranked Silver No. 1 on its list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business and Sports Illustrated named him Executive of the Year.

Prior to becoming commissioner, Silver served as NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for eight years. In that role he was instrumental to many of the league’s signature achievements, including the negotiation of the league's last three collective bargaining agreements with the National Basketball Players Association, the development of the WNBA and NBA Development League, the partnership with Turner Broadcasting to manage the NBA's digital assets, and the creation of NBA China.

Before serving as the league’s second-in-command, Silver spent more than eight years as President and COO, NBA Entertainment. Since joining the league in 1992, Silver has also held the positions of Senior VP & COO, NBA Entertainment; NBA Chief of Staff; and Special Assistant to the Commissioner.

Silver was elected to Duke University’s Board of Trustees in 2015. He also serves on the boards of NBA China, the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation and New York Road Runners.

Before joining the NBA, Silver was a litigation associate at the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he concentrated on media and antitrust cases. He also served as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood in New York. Silver graduated from Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School.